Newcastle man helping in fight to find treatment for deadly prostate cancer

Newcastle man helping in fight to find treatment for deadly prostate cancer

25 April 2012

A NEWCASTLE doctor is at the cutting edge of cancer research in Northern Ireland.

Clinical research fellow Dr. Darren Brady, whose post is funded by the Friends of the Cancer Centre at Belfast City Hospital, is dedicated to improving treatments for cancer patients.

He is currently involved in a study examining how men with prostate cancer respond to radiotherapy and is hopeful his work will help fine-tune a treatment that is already very effective.

Dr. Brady had a keen interest in physics as a schoolboy and was set to read physics at university after leaving school. He later changed his mind and moved into medicine.

He is now able to use his love for physics in his role as clinical oncologist, which he says is the “interface where physics and biology meet with real patients.”

Because he is involved in clinical trials Dr. Brady has to balance time spent in the lab and at the computer terminal with patient contact.

“At least once a week I see patients at an outpatient clinic and, as my research moves on, I’ll be spending more time talking to patients about my research and taking blood samples to process in our lab at Queen’s,” he said.

“That contact with real people who are coping with cancer really does keep me on track and reminds me that, while great strides have been made in recent years, it’s important to keep this momentum going.

“We want to know more about how radiotherapy affects the body, particularly its effects on the normal organs since that’s often what limits how we can deliver higher doses radiotherapy in a safe way.

“Radiotherapy is already a very good treatment for many cancers but of course we’re always looking for new and better ways to deliver treatment.”

Despite the major advances in cancer treatment, Dr. Brady admits he had a feeling that there will always be more that can be done to improve cancer treatments.

“That might put some people off but it’s a thought that takes me back to some of the best career advice I was ever given – ‘the most important thing is to start now’,” he said.

“My work however is made much easier by the availability of funding from Friends of the Cancer Centre.”